Chronic mental illnesses like severe MDD (major depressive disorder) and PTSD are alarms, not just for the mind, but for the body. This episode explores the fact that ongoing trauma and depression accelerate biological aging, leading to reduced health span and higher risks for chronic diseases. But can rapid, effective psychiatric treatment actually reverse this damage?

We dive into a compelling pilot study that gave a series of six sub-anesthetic ketamine infusions to 20 participants with treatment-resistant depression or PTSD. The researchers used second-generation epigenetic clocks to measure biological age—the actual cellular wear and tear, separate from chronological age. The most advanced clock used, OMICs-AGE, integrates DNA ...